Killarney Thanks its Sponsors
While we’re waiting out the coronavirus lockdown, it’s time to spare a thought for Killarney’s awesome sponsors, who have stood steadfastly by us as the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus in South Africa put the brakes on motorsport for the foreseeable future.
And who better to start with than WINGFIELD MOTORS, sponsors of the regional Power Series the two national-level Extreme Festivals at Killarney as well as a number of competitors, for the past eight years and counting…
The connection between the Van Niekerk family at Wingfield Motors and Killarney goes back to to May 1989, when John van Niekerk and his father ‘Uncle Johnny’ van Niekerk bought Adrian Pheiffer Motors in Goodwood from Adrian Pheiffer, the first chairman on the Western Province Motor Club.
They renamed it Wingfield Motors and four decades later there are branches in Goodwood and Kuils River, together with BESTPRICEFORMYCAR in Durbanville and Gezina, Pretoria.
Pheiffer, fellow Club stalwart Denis Joubert and ‘Uncle Johnny’ van Niekerk all raced stock cars at Goodwood; John grew up around motor racing, absorbing a lifelong passion for motorsport as if by osmosis.
It is that passion for, and involvement in motorsport that make John van Niekerk and Wingfield Motors such valued members of the Killarney family. His support of Killarney goes much deeper than sponsorship, however; his daughter Ciara followed her grandfather’s footsteps into Oval Track racing before making her Main Circuit debut in 2018 in a Volkswagen Polo.
In 2019, driving a Wingfield Motors Volkswagen Golf, she finished third in Class E of the Mikes Place Clubmans championship, as well as third in the overall standings for Classes D, E and F – and she’s still not old enough to drive on the road!
OILY SA are the South African distributors for G-ENERGY lubricants, and valued supporters of Killarney through their sponsorship of the second corner of the Main Circuit, now known as G-Energy Corner, and our annual season-opening international historic racing festival, Passion for Speed by G-Energy.
G-Energy also presents additional prizes as well as master classes in lubrication technology at selected events, and has a major presence at the annual Killarney Motor Show.
Since their team already works remotely, they are still in operation during lock down, assisting wherever possible and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of lubricants to customers who provide essential services.
“We can’t change the fact that we are facing the biggest crisis in our generation,” says Oily’s Daniela Toth, “but we can choose how to respond.
“This is an opportunity to adapt and come out stronger.”
Killarney International Raceway’s third corner has been known for many years as ROSE FOUNDATION Sweep, but a surprisingly large number of motorsport enthusiasts don’t know what the Rose Foundation is, or what it does.
R.O.S.E. is actually an acronym, standing for Recycling Oil Saves the Environment, which perfectly describes this very special company. When the South African government withdrew its support for the recycling of used oil in 1994, a group of oil companies set up and funded the Rose Foundation to address this vital aspect of the oil industry.
The South African automotive and engineering sectors produce thousands of litres of dirty, contaminated, used oil every day – oil which could potentially pollute almost every drop of its already scarce water reserves if allowed to get into the environment.
The Rose Foundation’s mission is to collect and re-use that oil, by encouraging workshops to store their used oil until it can be picked up by authorised Rose Foundation collectors and encouraging enthusiasts who do their own oil-changes to drain the old oil into sealed containers and drop it off at the nearest authorised collection point, which could be a municipal recycling facility or even a local car dealer who has agreed to let you pour it into his storage tank.
While used oil can be re-refined in much the same way as crude oil is treated, to produce base oils as good as or better than ‘virgin oil’, the process is prohibitively expensive and is only carried out on a small scale in South Africa. Most of our used oil is instead filtered and chemically scrubbed to remove metallic and organic contaminants and then used as heating fuel for industrial furnaces.
We all know the SPIRIT BRIDGE across the start-finish straight at Killarney International Raceway, from the Pits Paddock to the New Pits – but unless you’re a motorcycle enthusiast, it’s unlikely you’ll know what Spirit is all about.
Spirit is a new name that popped up in 2011, appearing first on helmets and later on jackets, gloves and even intercom units in bike shops all over South Africa.
Their objective is to produce and distribute innovative and affordable quality bikewear in the very competitive budget segment of the market. Which is why you won’t find fancy carbon-fibre helmet shells or leather jackets in their range – it’s all about gear for real-world riders, that works in the real world.
Designed and developed in South Africa for local conditions using the latest technology from around the world, Spirit bike gear goes through the most rigorous tests – surpassing internationally recognised safety standards – before it gets onto the shelf at your local dealer.
Many of Killarney International Raceway’s motorsport fans think the start/finish straight is the Porsche Straight, but in fact it’s named PORSCHE CLUB STRAIGHT, since it is sponsored not by Porsche South Africa or any of its dealers, but by a group of genuine motorsport enthusiasts – the members of the Porsche Club of Cape Town.
The Club is made up of Porsche enthusiasts from all walks of life and with a range of cars from the older 356 and 944s to the very latest models. Many of its members also race Porsches in Sports and GT or Classic Car categories, and the clubhouse alongside ‘their’ straight, just after the start line, is always a hive of activity on race days.
We know of no other instance where a marque club has become a major sponsor of a racing circuit, which speaks volumes for the dedication to motorsport shown by the members of this club.
Radio station KFM 94.5 is unusual among Killarney’s supporters in that its name adorns two sectors of the circuit – Kfm Corner, the left-hander at the end of the start/finish straight, and the Kfm Straight between Turn 3 and the sweeping double-apex Turn 4.
Kfm 94.5 is the circuit’s radio partner for the regional Power Series, national Extreme Festival events at Killarney, the World Rallycross of South Africa and, of course, the annual Killarney Motor Show powered by Kfm 94.5, where live broadcasts from the circuit are a big feature of the day’s entertainment.
The name may be a bit of a mouthful for the commentators but it would be difficult to find a more appropriate sponsor than CAR CARE CLINIC for the fast double-apex right-hander leading onto Killarney’s back straight.
This corner was originally known as Malmesbury Sweep because it was the northernmost point of the circuit, and because the Killarney motorsport complex began in 1947 as a disused section of the old road between Cape Town and Malmesbury.
Car Care Clinic is new to the Western Cape, having opened its first two service centres in this province – at Bellville and Stellenbosch – on 16 March, but the franchise, started in 2012 with one workshop in Centurion, Gauteng, has grown to no less than 20 service centres in Gauteng, one in the Free State and now two in the Western Cape.
They offer a full range of services and mechanical repairs to all makes of cars, including engine and gearbox rebuilds, brake and suspension repairs, air-conditioning repairs and re-gassing, diagnostics and electronic repairs.
FASTRON, the name given to the fifth and final corner of Killarney International Raceway, is actually the brand name of a range of high performance automotive lubricating oils developed by Indonesian state-owned oil and fuel company Pertamina, and distributed in South Africa since May 2013 by Indolube, based less than an hour from the circuit in Strand.
Fastron is where the last-corner ‘kamikaze moves’ take place that so often decide the outcome of a close race at Killarney. Deeply banked, it lends itself to late braking and different lines – some more unconventional than others, and for old-school race fans who like to braai while they watch their heroes battle it out, it’s a favourite viewing spot.
The name Fastron has become embedded in Killarney legend and we thank Pertamina for their unwavering support, especially in these difficult times.
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